by Michael Aprile

IT STARTS WITH YOU …

Governments cannot change the world, neither can churches, society nor any other authority. Nobody can be forced to show compassion, tolerance, respect and nobody can be forced to change.

Gandhi said “be the change you want to see in the world”.

The world will only be more peaceful, compassionate, tolerant and safe if we each individually commit, every day, to being the best we can be; to show respect, to be compassionate, to help others, to choose how we react to challenges and differences, to show by example that there is a better way.

Can you imagine the revolution that would occur across the whole planet if each and every person on the planet, on this very day chose compassion instead of selfishness, chose generosity instead of greed, chose to think of us all being interconnected and sharing resources and knowledge in a fair way instead of the protecting the needs and greed of individual countries, religions & cultures, chose to give without thought of receiving, chose to be tolerant and respectful of others’ differences in ideas, beliefs, colour and culture instead of prejudiced and intolerant, chose forgiveness over anger and hate?

It can happen, but we must stop expecting someone else to do it for us, we have to do this ourselves. So why are we waiting for something or someone else to save the human race, to save our world?

Begin today; be the best you can be; allow your tranquility, compassion and generosity to be the example to everyone you meet. Choose to react and think differently today, see the change it brings about within your own heart, your own well-being; allow the change to spread from you like a bubble, show others how things can be different; if your change in attitude makes just one person feel a bit more positive or a bit happier, wouldn’t it have been worth it??

And if you slip up and make a mistake, don’t beat yourself up, we all make mistakes and we all have bad days; show yourself compassion and forgiveness and begin again…never give up…always “be the change you want to see in the world.”
Let’s start the revolution together….